1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of multi-purpose trailers. In particular, the present invention relates to trailers designed to carry motorcycles, ATV's, golf carts, watercraft, lawnmowers, construction equipment, furniture, and wide variety of other cargo, devices or objects. Furthermore, the present invention relates to trailers which may be folded or collapsed into a stowable package and stored in a compact vertically upright manner.
2. Background of the Invention
As the popularity of motorcycles, ATV's and small watercraft proliferates, the demand for more practical, versatile and sophisticated motorsports trailers also increases. There are currently many different types and models of motorcycle and ATV trailers available on the market today which are generally satisfactory products; however, many consumers desire improved and innovative designs over the traditional motorcycle and/or ATV trailer. Some of the various prior art trailers utilized to haul motorcycles and ATVs are now herein described below.
One of the longest standing motorcycle and ATV trailer designs has evolved from the basic utility trailer design that has been utilized for decades. This type of trailer utilizes a large flat rectangular bed. Features of this design may include removable side rails and on/off loading ramps hinged to the rear of the rectangular bed. Although this basic design has proven to be very reliable and functional over the years, it does have disadvantages. For instance, the flat rectangular bed is not designed to be easily stowed. Since the rectangular bed is typically a rigid body constructed with a frame of metal beams and the floor of the bed being either covered in diamond plate or wooden planks, the bed cannot be collapsed or folded. As a result, when the trailer is not being used, it still is deployed in its normal configuration. This means valuable storage space, garage space, driveway space, yard space, or the like is consumed. Another disadvantage of the rectangular bed design is that it is typically inherently heavy due to its heavy-duty frame construction. Thus, in most situations, these traditional styled trailers are under utilized in regard to capacity. For instance, a trailer that was once originally designed to haul heavy-duty farm equipment such as tractors, has a much greater hauling capacity than what is required to haul a couple motorcycles or an ATV. Furthermore, the flat rectangular bed design does not offer special features adapted explicitly to secure motorcycles.
Another example of an existing trailer is a smaller lighter weight frame design which is specifically configured for transporting motorcycles. An example of this design is disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. 336,869. This design includes a trailer frame that is typically constructed from square or rectangular tube or beams. Either one, two or three channel rails are placed atop the frame the for accepting the motorcycle tires. Although these designs are lighter weight and easier to maneuver, they do have some drawbacks. For instance, since the trailer does not typically have planar decking, it can only be used to transport motorcycles and is not capable of transporting ATV's. Also, since this design does not have planar decking, storage space for auxiliary equipment is not available. And even though this design is more compact, it still takes up substantially more space than is required, since it typically is not designed to be collapsed or stored vertically. And since the aforementioned designed is optimized for transporting motorcycles, the trailer is otherwise not very useful when other cargo needs to be transported such as furniture. Thus, this design lacks flexibility that is desired by many consumers.
A third variety of design is a design similar to the previous design, but additionally is designed to be stored in a vertical position. An example of this trailer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,145 to Leib et al. entitled “Collapsible Trailer”. In particular, a collapsible trailer is provided which includes a first and second platform which is pivotally mounted to the first platform so that the second platform may move between an open and closed position. A support arm is mounted on the first platform and extends to contact the second platform at a position substantially away from the pivot axis of the second platform when in the open position. This design exhibits very desirable features such as the ability to be stored in a vertical upright position and a compact easily maneuverable design. However, this design has the same drawbacks as the previous designs, in particular, it is dedicated to only one purpose for transporting motorcycles. Moreover, this design lacks planar decking.
Thus, one of the overall primary disadvantages of the aforementioned designs is that the prior art trailers are either designed with a specific task in mind (e.g., transporting motorcycles) or designed with a very general task in mind, such as basic utility. That is to say, a trailer may be designed to accomplish a specific task, such as hauling motorcycles, yet the trailer cannot be converted into a general purpose utility trailer. Or perhaps the trailer is general purpose built and lacks components/design features (such as wheel guides and chock) which are provided on trailers designed to accomplish a specific task such as hauling a watercraft, motorcycle or ATV. With these disadvantages in mind, it would be desirable to provide a trailer which has a multi-purpose role, in particular, the ability to be adapted from a specific mission to a more general mission.
Furthermore, none of the aforementioned designs take advantage of state-of-the-art manufacturing processes which consumers have shown a strong preference for and of which manufacturers desire to implement to reduce fabrication costs. For instance, round tubular steel double frame construction has been shown to be lighter than traditional rectangular and square tubing frame designs, while still exhibiting the same structural strength. The ability to manufacture bent tube frame economically opens up the opportunity to incorporate a variety of frame design improvements that are difficult or very costly to achieve with square or rectangular tubing which does not lend itself well to being bent.
Other features of which none of the aforementioned designs incorporate is the concept of modularity. By utilizing similar sub-components in various models of trailers, overall costs of manufacturing the various trailers may be reduced, and thus, the savings may be passed to the consumer.
It would be advantageous to provide a motorsports trailer that overcomes the aforementioned disadvantages that the prior art trailers exhibit. In particular, it would be advantageous to develop a line of multi-purpose motorcycle and/or ATV trailers based upon a modular concept in which similar components, designs, features, parts, etc. may be shared within each embodiment. It would be further advantageous to utilize high-strength light weight steel double frame construction designs which have been shown to be lighter and as strong as traditional square tubing or rectangular tubing frames. It is also desirable to package the aforementioned tubular frames in a design which may be stowed in a vertically upright position.